The Lakeside Gem & Mineral Club has been in existence for over 50 years in the Tri-Cities. The club started in 1953 and has since grown to a current membership of about 200 people that share a common love for the things that can be made from rocks, gemstones, and fossils. Several of our club members have been around since the clubs beginning. The talents of some of these individuals have been showcased in hobby related magazines throughout the Pacific Northwest. The adult club meets the first Wednesday of each month at 7PM in the basement of the Banner Bank building in downtown Kennewick (203 West First Avenue). The adult club also sponsors and mentors a junior rock club which meets the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm at the same location. Presently the junior club has a membership of about 30 kids ranging from 8 to 16 years of age. The club promotes educational and scientific activities of mutual interest to our members. Fields of interest include gemology, mineralogy, lapidary arts, collecting and displaying of gems, minerals, and fossils, along with other associated arts and sciences. Interests among our members include faceting, silversmithing, jewelry making, intarsia, beading, fossils, crystals, minerals, and other lapidary arts such as making clocks, gem trees, bookends, spheres, etc. Club activities include regular monthly meetings with programs, displays, guest speakers and demonstrations. A number of group field trips are scheduled throughout the summer months that vary from day trips to week-long outings. A club bulletin, The Geode, is published 10 times a year, keeping our members informed of activities. Our members teach others how to work with rocks, minerals, and fossils. Classes can be arranged for a group or on an individual basis. We are active in the community, sponsoring an award in the Earth Sciences Division of the Mid-Columbia Science Fair and performing highway cleanup activities on a stretch of Interstate 82 twice a year. Our hobby is shared with the community through the displays and demonstrations at the Benton County Fair each year for the past 40 years and members frequently place displays at local libraries throughout the Columbia Basin. Members speak at local schools and to youth groups upon request. Many of our members display and compete in Gem Shows throughout the Pacific Northwest. We are affiliated with the Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies (which includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Northern Utah, and Washington), the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, the Washington State Mineral Council, and the American Lands Access Association.
Our regular meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month (except July and December) at Banner Bank, 203 W. First Street, Kennewick, Washington. Our meetings start at 7:00pm.
>!Kennewick, Washington>
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